System and method for error detection and recovery in an electronic trading system

ABSTRACT

A system for error detection in a trading network comprises a memory operable to store a plurality of trader profiles, wherein a particular trader profile is associated with a particular trader. The particular trader profile comprises first contact data associated with a first client device and second contact data associated with a second client device. The memory is further operable to store at least one trading order associated with the particular trader. The system further comprises a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and operable to detect an alert associated with the first client device. In conjunction with detecting the alert, the processor is operable to determine a current status of the at least one trading order and to generate a status message regarding the determined status. The processor is further operable to transmit the status message to the second client device, wherein the transmission is based at least in part on the second contact data.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/686,647 filed on Mar. 15, 2007, the content of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to electronic error detectionand recovery and more specifically to a system and method for errordetection and recovery in an electronic trading system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years electronic trading systems have gained widespreadacceptance for the trading of a variety of items such as goods,services, financial instruments, and commodities. For example,electronic trading systems may facilitate the trading of financialinstruments and commodities such as stocks, bonds, currency, futures,commodities, oil, and gold.

Generally, an electronic trading system receives and processes tradingorders from traders. For example, an electronic trading system mayprocess trading orders by matching buy orders for a particular item withsell orders for the same item. Upon executing a trade, an electronictrading system may send a confirmation message to the trader thatsubmitted the executed trading order. Occasionally, the electronictrading system may experience a failure that prevents the system fromsending a confirmation message to the trader.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, the disadvantages and problemsassociated with prior electronic trading systems have been substantiallyreduced or eliminated.

A system for error detection in a trading network comprises a memoryoperable to store a plurality of trader profiles, wherein a particulartrader profile is associated with a particular trader. The particulartrader profile comprises first contact data associated with a firstclient device and second contact data associated with a second clientdevice. The memory is further operable to store at least one tradingorder associated with the particular trader. The system furthercomprises a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and operableto detect an alert associated with the first client device. Inconjunction with detecting the alert, the processor is operable todetermine a current status of the at least one trading order and togenerate a status message regarding the determined status. The processoris further operable to transmit the status message to the second clientdevice, wherein the transmission is based at least in part on the secondcontact data.

The invention has several important technical advantages. Variousembodiments of the invention may have none, some, or all of theseadvantages. One advantage is that the trading system is operable todetect when a first client device associated with a particular traderexperiences an alert condition. In conjunction with detecting the alertcondition, the trading system may determine the status of trading ordersassociated with the particular trader. In some embodiments, tradingsystem is operable to calculate metrics such as the change in marketposition of the particular trader since the detection of the alertcondition. The trading system may then generate and transmit a statusmessage to a second client device associated with the particular trader.Thus, the trading system may maintain the flow of status information toa trader even when a particular client device associated with the traderexperiences an alert condition. By maintaining the flow of statusinformation to traders, trading system may promote confidence in thereliability of the trading system. Because traders with confidence inthe trading system are more likely to submit more and/or larger tradingorders, the trading system may increase liquidity in the market.

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent toone skilled in the art from the description and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and itsadvantages reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a trading system, according tocertain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example trader profile, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example status message, according to certainembodiments; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart for generating and transmitting a statusmessage, according to certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a trading system 10. Trading system10 may comprise a plurality of clients 20, a trading platform 30, andone or more market centers 40 communicatively coupled by a network 50.Generally, trading system 10 is operable to receive, route, and matchtrading orders 12 submitted by traders 22. Trading system 10 is furtheroperable to detect when a first client 20 associated with trader 22experiences a failure or network disconnection. In conjunction withdetecting a failure or network disconnection of the first client 20,trading system 10 may determine the status of trading orders 12submitted by trader 22. Trading system 10 may then generate and transmita status message 14 to a second client 20 associated with trader 22.Thus, trading system 10 may maintain real-time flow of statusinformation to trader 22 even when a particular client 20 associatedwith trader 22 experiences a failure or network disconnection.

Trading system 10 comprises a plurality of clients 20. Clients 20represent any suitable local or remote end-user devices that may be usedby traders 22 to access one or more elements of trading system 10, suchas trading platform 30. A particular client 20 may comprise a computer,workstation, telephone, Internet browser, electronic notebook, PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), pager, or any other suitable device (wireless,wireline, or otherwise), component, or element capable of receiving,processing, storing, and/or communicating information with othercomponents of system 10. Client 20 may also comprise any suitable userinterface such as a display, microphone, keyboard, or any otherappropriate terminal equipment according to particular configurationsand arrangements. A particular trader 22 may be associated with anynumber and combination of clients 20. It will be understood that theremay be any number of clients 20 communicatively coupled to tradingplatform 30 via network 50.

Clients 20 are operable to receive trading orders 12 from traders 22 andto send trading orders 12 to trading platform 30. Trading orders 12 maycomprise orders to trade products such as, for example, currencies,financial instruments, stocks, bonds, futures contracts, equitysecurities, mutual funds, options, derivatives, commodities, or anynumber and combination of suitable trading products. In particularembodiments, trading order 12 may specify a target price for the tradingproduct. Trading orders 12 may comprise bids, offers, market orders,limit orders, stop loss orders, day orders, open orders, GTC (“good tillcancelled”) orders, “good through” orders, “all or none” orders, “anypart” orders, or any other suitable order for trading.

A particular trading order 12 may be referred to as an order or acounterorder. Orders and counterorders represent complementary actionssuch as, for example, buying and selling. If the party that submits aparticular order is referred to as trader 22, the party that submits acorresponding counterorder may be referred to as a “counterparty” trader22. If a particular order represents a buy order (e.g., bid, take, 10lift, etc.), then a corresponding counterorder may represent a sellorder (e.g., offer, hit, etc.). Conversely, if a particular orderrepresents a sell order, then a corresponding counterorder may representa buy order.

Although clients 20 are described herein as being used by “traders” 22,it should be understood that the term “trader” is meant to broadly applyto any user of trading system 10, whether that user is an agent actingon behalf of a principal, a principal, an individual, a legal entity(such as a corporation), or any machine or mechanism that is capable ofplacing and/or responding to trading orders 12 in system 10. Certaintraders 22 may be customers and other traders 22 may be market makers.

A market maker is any individual, firm, or other entity that submitsand/or maintains either or both bid and offer trading orders 12simultaneously for the same instrument. For example, a market maker maybe a brokerage or bank that maintains either a firm bid and/or offerprice in a given security by standing ready, willing, and able to buyand/or sell that security at publicly quoted prices. A market makergenerally displays bid and/or offer prices for specific numbers ofspecific securities, and if these prices are met, the market maker willimmediately buy for and/or sell from its own accounts. According tocertain embodiments, a single trading order 12 may be filled by a numberof market makers at potentially different prices.

A customer may be any user of trading system 10 that is not a marketmaker. A customer may be an individual investor, an agent acting onbehalf of a principal, a principal, an individual, a legal entity (suchas a corporation), or any machine or mechanism that is capable ofplacing and/or responding to trading orders 12 in system 10.

As explained above, clients 20 may be communicatively coupled to tradingplatform 30 via network 50. Network 50 is a communication platformoperable to exchange data or information between clients 20 and tradingplatform 30 and/or market centers 40. According to certain embodiments,a particular network 50 may comprise a plain old telephone system(POTS), a packet data network (PDN), a local area network (LAN),metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless localarea network (WLAN), virtual private network (VPN), intranet, Internet,or any other appropriate architecture or system that facilitatescommunications between clients 20 and trading platform 30 and/or marketcenters 40. It should be understood that network 50 may comprise anycombination of the above examples or any suitable communicationsnetwork.

Market centers 40 comprise all manner of order execution venuesincluding exchanges, Electronic Communication Networks (ECNs),Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs), market makers, or any other suitablemarket participants. Each market center 40 maintains a bid and offerprice in a given trading product by standing ready, willing, and able tobuy or sell at publicly quoted prices, also referred to as market centerprices. A particular market center 40 may facilitate trading of multipletrading products, such as, for example, stocks, fixed income securities,futures contracts, currencies, precious metals, and so forth. Marketcenters 40 may be communicatively coupled to trading platform 30 vianetwork 50.

Trading platform 30 is a trading architecture that facilitates therouting, matching, and otherwise processing of trading orders 12.Trading platform 30 may comprise a management center or a headquarteringoffice for any person, business, or entity that seeks to route, match,process, or fill trading orders 12. Accordingly, trading platform 30 mayinclude any suitable combination of hardware, software, personnel,devices, components, elements, or objects that may be utilized orimplemented to achieve the operations and functions of an administrativebody or a supervising entity that manages or administers a tradingenvironment. Trading platform 30 may comprise a client interface 60, amarket interface 70, a memory 80, and a processor 90.

Client interface 60 in trading platform 30 is communicatively connectedto network 50 and supports communications between clients 20 and thevarious components of trading platform 30. According to certainembodiments, client interface 60 represents a transaction server thatreceives trading orders 12 communicated by clients 20 via network 50. Insome embodiments, client interface 60 may comprise one or more sensors62.

Sensor 62 is generally operable to monitor communications betweentrading platform 30 and other components of trading system 10. In someembodiments, sensor 62 may represent a network tap, packet sniffer, orany suitable hardware and/or software operable to intercept and logtraffic passing between clients 20, trading platform 30, and/or othercomponents of trading system 10. Sensor 62 may be operable to monitornetwork connections between clients 20 and trading platform 30. In someembodiments, sensor 62 may transmit test signals 66 to a particularclient 20 to verify that the particular client 20 is connected tonetwork 50.

Sensor 62 may be configured to generate alert 64 in response to anysuitable type and/or combination of detected events. In particular, ifclient 20 fails to respond to test signal 66, sensor 62 may determinethat client 20 and/or a network connection associated with client 20 hasfailed. Accordingly, sensor 62 may generate alert 64 indicating anetwork disconnection associated with client 20. As another example,sensor 62 may generate alert 64 upon detecting that a network connectionbetween trading platform 30 and client 20 has been terminated prior toclient 20 signing off from a network portal associated with tradingplatform 30. In some embodiments, sensor 62 may generate an alert 64 inresponse to detecting a data packet, sent from client 20, thatrepresents a network intrusion attempt or comprises potentially harmfulcode such as, for example, a virus, spyware, a trojan horse, a worm, orany other harmful communication. It should be understood that sensor 62is operable to generate alert 64 in response to detecting any suitabletype of event or failure associated with trading system 10.

In generating alert 64, sensor 62 may configure alert 64 to comprise anysuitable information regarding the detected event. In particular, alert64 may comprise information regarding the type of the detected event,the time of the detected event, the identity of client 20 associatedwith the detected event, the identity of trader 22 associated withclient 20, the source IP address and/or destination IP address of a datapacket associated with the detected event, and/or any other suitablecharacteristic associated with the detected event. Sensor 62 is operableto transmit alert 64 to processor 90 in trading platform 30.

Market interface 70 is communicatively connected to market centers 40and supports communications between market centers 40 and the variouscomponents of trading platform 30. Market interface 70 may comprise atransaction server that receives trading orders 12 communicated bymarket centers 40. In addition, market interface 70 may send to marketcenters 40 trading orders 12 received from clients 20 connected directlyto trading platform 30. Market interface 70 may also receive market data72 from market centers 40. Market data 72 may comprise informationregarding market conditions such as, for example, trading volumes, bestbid/offer prices, trends in prices, trends in trading volumes, time ofentry of trading orders 12, number of outstanding trading orders 12,number of active traders 22, and/or any other suitable informationregarding conditions in trading system 10.

As explained above, trading platform 30 may comprise memory 80 andprocessor 90. Memory 80 is generally operable to store logic 82 and oneor more trader profiles 84. Logic 82 generally comprises rules,algorithms, formulas, functions, tables, or any suitable instructionsfor performing the functions and operations described herein.

Trader profiles 84 generally comprise information regarding theidentity, trading preferences, trading history, and accounts of traders22. Trading platform 30 may allow a person or entity to register to usetrading system 10 as trader 22. When a particular trader 22 registers touse trading system 10, trading platform 30 may generate trader profile84 for that trader 22. Thus, for each trader 22 in trading system 10,memory 80 may store a corresponding trader profile 84. Trader profile 84of a particular trader 22 may comprise relevant information such as, forexample, the name, address, employer, and account information of thattrader 22. Trader profile 84 of a particular trader 22 may furthercomprise contact data 86 for clients 20 associated with the particulartrader 22.

Contact data 86 for client 20 generally comprises a network address, anemail address, a phone number, a port identifier, an IP address, and/orany other suitable information for communicating with client 20. Tradingplatform 30 may generally use contact data 86 in trader profile 84 tonotify trader 22 regarding the status of trading orders 12 submitted bytrader 22. In some embodiments, a particular trader 22 may use multipleclients 20 to communicate with trading platform 30. For example, on someoccasions, a particular trader 22 may submit trading orders 12 totrading platform 30 using a personal digital assistant (PDA). On otheroccasions, the particular trader 22 may use a cellular phone or personalcomputer to submit trading orders 12 to trading platform 30. Although aPDA, cellular phone, and personal computer are mentioned above asexamples of clients 20, it should be understood that client 20 maycomprise any suitable device (wireless, wireline, or otherwise),component, or element capable of receiving, processing, storing, and/orcommunicating information with other components of system 10.

In some embodiments, trader profile 84 associated with trader 22 maycomprise one or more order logs 88. Order log 88 associated with aparticular trader 22 generally comprises data regarding the status oftrading orders 12 submitted by trader 22. For a particular trading order12, order log 88 may comprise information regarding the size, price,and/or trading product associated with trading order 12. Order log 88may further comprise status data 92 such as, for example, whethertrading order 12 has been executed, the portion of trading order 12 thathas been filled, whether trading order 12 has been cancelled, whethertrading order 12 is pending, and/or any other suitable informationregarding the status of trading order 12. Order log 88 may indicate thetime at which a particular trading order 12 was received, the time atwhich the particular trading order 12 was executed or cancelled, and/orthe time at which status data 92 in order log 88 was last updated.

In some embodiments, status data 92 indicates the position of aparticular trading order 12 in an order stack 94. Processor 90 maydetect a change in status of the particular trading order 12 based atleast in part on activity in order stack 94. Order stack 94 generallyrepresents a queue, list, and/or sequence of trading orders 12. Tradingplatform 30 may store different trading orders 12 in respective orderstacks 94 according to the price and trading product associated with thedifferent trading orders 12. For example, a bid for Trading Product X at$11.00 per unit may be stored in memory 80 in an $11.00 order stack 94associated with Trading Product X, and a bid for Trading Product Y at$9.00 per unit may be stored in a $9.00 order stack 94 associated withTrading Product Y. Within a given order stack 94, a recently receivedtrading order 12 may be listed above or below an earlier receivedtrading order 12, such that the earlier received trading order 12 isexecuted first. Thus, trading platform 30 may use order stacks 94 tomanage the execution of trading orders 12.

As explained above, status data 92 may indicate the position of aparticular trading order 12 in order stack 94. For example, if client 20submits Bid A for 1,000,000 units of trading product X at $12.00 perunit, trading platform 30 may assign Bid A to the $12.00 order stack 94for trading product X. In this example, due to the particular time whenBid A was received, Bid A may be the fifth order in the $12.00 orderstack 94. In this example, due to cancellation and/or execution of othertrading orders 12, Bid A moves up from the fifth position to the secondposition in the $12.00 order stack 94. Processor 90 may detect thismovement of Bid A in the $12.00 order stack 94 and may update statusdata 92 in order log 88 to indicate the new position of Bid A in the$12.00 order stack 94. In some embodiments, based at least in part onthe updated status data 92, processor 90 may, upon receiving alert 64,notify 15 trader 22 regarding the position of Bid A in order stack 94.It should be understood that order log 88 in trader profile 84associated with trader 22 may comprise any suitable informationregarding the nature and status of one or more trading orders 12submitted by trader 22.

As explained above, memory 80 is communicatively coupled to processor90. Processor 90 is generally operable to receive trading orders 12 fromclients 20, to record trading orders 12 in memory 80, to match ordersand counterorders, and/or to route trading orders 12 to market centers40. Processor 90 is further operable to receive alerts 64 from sensors62. Upon receiving alert 64 associated with a first client 20 of aparticular trader 22, processor 90 is operable to determine currentstatus data 92 of trading orders 12 submitted by the particular trader22. Processor 90 is further operable to generate status messages 14comprising current status data 92 of trading orders 12. According tocertain embodiments, processor 90 may then identify in trader profile 84contact data 86 for a second client 20 of trader 22. Processor 90 maythen transmit the generated status message 14 to the second client 20 oftrader 22. Thus, trading system 10 may provide current status data 92 totrader 22 even when a particular client 20 of trader 22 is disconnectedfrom network 50 and/or experiences a failure. Processor 90 may compriseany suitable combination of hardware and/or software implemented in oneor more modules to provide the described function or operation.

As explained above, processor 90 is operable to generate status message14. Status message 14 may comprise any suitable information regardingtrading orders 12 submitted by trader 22. Status message 14 may indicatewhether a particular trading order 12 has been executed or canceled.Status message 14 may comprise information regarding the position of theaffected trader 22 in the market. In particular, status message 14 mayreport the net change in market position of the affected trader 22 sincethe time of alert 64, since the beginning of the trading day, or sinceany suitable time. According to certain embodiments, status message 14may indicate the position of a particular trading order 12 in orderstack 94. In some embodiments, status message 14 may comprise marketdata 72 regarding trading activity in trading system 10 since the timeof alert 64 or since any suitable time.

It should be understood that the internal structure of trading platform30 and the interfaces, processors, and memory devices associatedtherewith are malleable and can be readily changed, modified,rearranged, or reconfigured to achieve the intended operations oftrading platform 30. In particular, it should be understood that thefunctions and operations of client interface 60, sensor 62, and/ormarket interface 70 may be performed by processor 90 in trading platform30.

In operation, trader 22 may use client 20 to register to participate intrading system 10. Upon registration, trader 22 may submit to tradingplatform 30 biographical data, employer data, and/or accountinformation. In particular, trader 22 may use client 20 to submitcontact data 86 for one or more clients 20 associated with trader 22.Contact data 86 for client 20 may comprise a network address, an emailaddress, a phone number, a port identifier, an IP address, and/or anyother suitable information for contacting client 20. Upon registrationof trader 22, trading platform 30 may generate and store in memory 80 aparticular trader profile 84 for trader 22. Trading platform 30 maystore in trader profile 84 contact data 86 and other informationsubmitted by trader 22. After registering with trading platform 30,trader 22 may subsequently access and update contact data 86 and otherinformation stored in trader profile 84. It should be understood thatmemory 80 in trading platform 30 may store trader profiles 84 for anynumber and combination of traders 22.

After registering to participate in trading system 10, a particulartrader 22 may use client 20 to submit trading orders 12 to tradingplatform 30. In some embodiments, upon receiving trading order 12associated with trader 22, processor 90 may record trading order 12 inthe appropriate order stack 94 in memory 80. In other embodiments,processor 90 may route trading order 12 to one or more market centers 40for execution. Processor 90 may record in order log 88 in trader profile84 associated with the particular trader 22 the size, price, and time oftrading order 12. Processor 90 may record, as status data 92, thecurrent status of trading order 12 in order log 88. For example, whentrading order 12 is received from client 20, processor 90 may record inorder log 88 “pending” as status data 92 of trading order 12. Processor90 may subsequently monitor trading order 12 to determine whethertrading order 12 is executed, canceled, modified, or otherwiseprocessed. In some embodiments, processor 90 may detect a change instatus of trading order 12 based at least in part on activity in orderstack 94 and/or based at least in part on market data 72 from marketcenters 40. Upon detecting a change in status of trading order 12,processor 90 may update status data 92 in order log 88. For example, ifprocessor 90 receives an execution message from market center 40regarding trading order 12, processor 90 may update status data 92 inorder log 88 to indicate that trading order 12 has been executed.

Once client 20 has established a network connection with tradingplatform 30, sensor 62 in client interface 60 may monitor the networkconnection between client 20 and trading platform 30. In someembodiments, sensor 62 may periodically send test signals 66 to client20. Test signal 66 may represent any message, command, request, signal,or data packet configured to invoke a response from client 20. Forexample, test signal 66 may comprise a “status” function, a “getvariable value” command, or any number and combination of suitablesignals. The process of transmitting test signals 66 to client 20 may bereferred to as “pinging” client 20. According to certain embodiments, ifclient 20 does not respond to one or more test signals 66 transmittedfrom sensor 62, then sensor 62 may determine that client 20 and/ornetwork 50 has experienced a failure. The failure may be an error ormalfunction of client 20, a network disconnection, an error associatedwith network 50, and/or any error that disrupts communication betweentrading platform 30 and client 20. Upon detecting the failure, sensor 62may generate and transmit alert 64 to processor 90. In some embodiments,alert 64 comprises data identifying the particular client(s) 20 and/orthe particular trader(s) 22 associated with or affected by the detectedfailure.

In certain embodiments, sensor 62 may, without pinging client 20,determine that client 20 and/or network 50 has experienced a failure. Insome embodiments, client 20 may be configured to send to sensor 62 aparticular alert 64 upon experiencing an error, malfunction, networkdisconnection, and/or disruption. In other embodiments, sensor 62 mayreceive notification of a failure from any suitable hardware and/orsoftware component(s) associated with trader 22, client 20, and/ornetwork 50.

As explained above, sensor 62 may transmit alert 64 to processor 90.Based at least in part on alert 64, processor 90 may identify theparticular trader(s) 22 associated with and/or affected by the detectedfailure. For each identified trader 22, processor 90 may identify arespective trader profile 84. For a particular trader 22, processor 90may identify in order log 88 in trader profile 84 the current statusdata 92 of trading orders 12 submitted by the particular trader 22.Processor 90 may then generate status message 14 reporting the currentstatus data 92 of trading orders 12 in order log 88. In someembodiments, processor 90 may further determine whether and by how muchthe market position of trader 22 has changed since alert 64. If themarket position of trader 22 has changed, processor 90 may configurestatus message 14 to indicate the net change(s) in market position oftrader 22 since alert 64.

After receiving alert 64 associated with a particular client 20 oftrader 22, processor 90 may identify in trader profile 84 contact data86 for another client 20 associated with trader 22. Using the identifiedcontact data 86, processor 90 may transmit status message 14 to theother client 20 associated with trader 22. Thus, even when a particularclient 20 associated with trader 22 experiences a failure, tradingsystem 10 is operable to maintain the flow of trading information totrader 22.

It should be understood that status data 92 in order log 88 and/orstatus message 14 may comprise any suitable information regarding thecurrent status of trading order 12. For example, status data 92 mayindicate whether trading order 12 is pending, cancelled, partiallyexecuted, or fully executed. As another example, status data 92 mayindicate the position of trading order 12 in order stack 94. Thus,status data 92 may comprise any suitable information regarding thestatus of trading order 12.

In some embodiments, processor 90 may configure status message 14 toindicate current status data 92 for trading orders 12 that were pendingat the time of alert 64. In other embodiments, processor 90 mayconfigure status message 14 to indicate current status data 92 for alltrading orders 12 in order log 88 in trader profile 84. In yet otherembodiments, processor 90 may configure status message 14 to comprisestatus data 92 that was updated in order log 88 after the time of alert64 or within a configurable period of time of alert 64. Thus, it shouldbe understood that processor 90 may configure status message 14 tocomprise status data 92 for any number and combination of trading orders12 in order log 88.

As explained above, sensor 62 may be configured to periodically transmitone or more test signals 66 to clients 20. Test signal 66 may representany message, command, request, signal, or data packet configured toinvoke a response from client 20. It should be understood that sensor 62may be configured to transmit one or more test signals 66 to aparticular client 20 according to any suitable interval. In someembodiments, the time interval for pinging a particular client 20associated with a particular trader 22 may be based at least in part ontrader preferences 96 associated 20 with the particular trader 22.

Trader preferences 96 may comprise conditions, criteria, and/orstrategies that trader 22 may deem relevant to a trading decision.Trader 22 may use client 20 to submit trader preferences 96 to tradingplatform 30. Trading platform 30 may store trader preferences 96 from aparticular trader 22 in trader profile 84 associated with the particulartrader 22. In some embodiments, trader preference 96 may specify one ormore conditions for generating status message 14. For example, traderpreference 96 may comprise an instruction to generate status message 14if client 20 has been disconnected for more than a configurable periodof time. As another example, trader preference 96 may comprise aninstruction for processor 90 to generate status message 14 uponreceiving a particular type of alert 64 (e.g., virus detection, networkdisconnection, network speed below a configurable threshold, and/or anyother suitable type of alert 64). As yet another example, traderpreference 96 may direct processor 90 to generate and transmit statusmessage 14 if, after alert 64, the market position of trader 22 changesby more or less than a configurable threshold. In some embodiments,trader 22 may submit trader preferences 96 to trading platform 30before, during, or after registration. It should be understood thattrader preferences 96 may comprise ratios, price ranges, quantityranges, thresholds, yield spreads, limits, conditions, and/or any othersuitable criteria that trader 22 may deem relevant to his or herparticipation in trading system 10.

In some embodiments, status message 14 may comprise informationregarding the net change in the market position of trader 22 over aconfigurable period of time. The market position of trader 22 may referto the amount of a particular trading product owned (long position) orowed (short position) by trader 22. During the course of trading, themarket position of trader 22 may change as trading orders 12 or pricefeeds associated with trader 22 are aggressed by counterorders fromother traders 22. If a trader 22 is temporarily disconnected fromtrading platform 30, trader 22 may, upon reconnecting to tradingplatform 30, want to know the net change in his or her market positionsince being disconnected from trading platform 30. Based at least inpart on order log 88 associated with trader 22, processor 90 is operableto determine the net change in market position of trader 22. Processor90 may configure status message 14 to report the net change in marketposition of trader 22. Processor 90 may calculate the net change sinceany configurable point in time such as, for example, since the beginningof the trading day, since the time when the disconnection occurred, orany other suitable time.

In some embodiments, a particular client 20 may log into a networkportal associated with trading platform 30 to initiate a tradingsession. Trading platform 30 may provide a logout procedure by which aparticular client 20 may terminate a trading session with tradingplatform 30. In some embodiments, sensor 62 may begin to periodicallyping client 20 with test signals 66 once client 20 has logged intotrading platform 30. Once client 20 logs out of a trading session withtrading platform 30, sensor 62 may be configured to stop pinging client20 with test signals 66. In some embodiments, if client 20 stopsresponding to test signals 66 prior to logging out of the tradingsession with trading platform 30, sensor 62 may be configured togenerate alert 64.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example trader profile 84, according to certainembodiments. As explained above, memory 80 may store at least one traderprofile 84 for each trader 22 in trading system 10. In some embodiments,when trader 22 registers to participate in trading system 10, tradingplatform 30 may request trader 22 to submit account data, identityinformation, employer data, trader preferences 96, contact data 86,and/or any suitable information. Upon receiving the requestedinformation from trader 22, trading platform 30 may generate traderprofile 84 associated with trader 22. Trading platform 30 may store intrader profile 84 the information received from trader 22.

The example trader profile 84 illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises contactdata 86 for multiple clients 20 associated with trader 22. Inparticular, for Workstations A and B associated with trader 22, traderprofile 84 comprises particular IP addresses—1.160.10.240 and2.234.20.120, respectively. For a PDA and a mobile phone associated withtrader 22, trader profile 84 comprises particular phonenumbers—571.242.1275 and 571.823.8573, respectively. Trader profile 84further comprises two email addresses associated with trader22—john@trader.net and ben@money.net. Thus, trader profile 84 associatedwith trader 22 comprises contact data 86 for multiple clients 20associated with trader 22.

Contact data 86 in the example trader profile 84 further indicates aparticular client classification for each client 20. In someembodiments, a client classification indicates whether a particularclient 20 is a primary client 20, a secondary client 20, and so forth.In some embodiments, trading platform 30 may be configured to first sendstatus messages 14 to primary client(s) 20 if a network connection isestablished with primary client(s) 20. If no network connection isestablished with primary client(s) 20, trading platform 30 may beconfigured to send status messages 14 to secondary client(s) 20,tertiary client(s) 20, and/or any suitable class of clients 20. In someembodiments, trader 22 may use client 20 to designate which clients 20are primary clients 20, secondary clients 20, and so forth.

In the foregoing example, contact data 86 comprises source IP addresses,phone numbers, and email addresses. It should be understood, however,that contact data 86 may comprise one or more network addresses, portidentifiers, email addresses, phone numbers, and/or any suitable datafor communicating with clients 20 associated with trader 22.

The example trader profile 84 comprises trader preferences 96. The firsttrader preference 96 in the example trader profile 84 directs tradingplatform 30 to generate and transmit status message 14 if client 20associated with trader 22 is disconnected from trading platform 30 formore than five minutes. The second trader preference 96 in the exampletrader profile 84 directs trading platform 30 to generate and transmitstatus message 14 if the transmission speed of the network connectionbetween client 20 and trading platform 30 is less than 46 kbps.

Although trader preferences 96 in the example trader profile 84 arebased on disconnection time and network speed, respectively, it shouldbe understood that trader preferences 96 may be based on any suitablecriteria such as, for example, trading volume, size of pending tradingorders 12, market prices, and/or any number and combination of suitablecriteria. It should be further understood that trader profile 84associated with trader 22 may comprise any number and combination oftrader preferences 96. In some embodiments, if trader 22 does not submittrader preferences 96 to trading platform 30, trading platform 30 isoperable to store default trader preferences 96 in trader profile 84.The default trader preferences 96 may comprise default thresholds forconnection speed, for disconnection time, for market price, and/or forany number and combination of suitable criteria for triggering thetransmission of status message 14.

The example trader profile 84 further comprises order log 88. Order log88 in the example trader profile 84 comprises data regarding the size,price, and trading product associated with trading orders 12 submittedby trader 22. Order log 88 further comprises status data 92 associatedwith trading order 12, the time at which trading platform 30 receivedtrading order 12, the particular client 20 that transmitted tradingorder 12, and the time at which status data 92 of trading order 12 waslast updated. For example, order log 88 indicates that, on Jun. 7, 2006,Bid A for 1,000,000 units of Trading Product X was received fromWorkstation A at 15:45:32 and was executed at 15:46:05. In a similarfashion, order log 88 indicates the size, price, and status data 92 ofOffers B and C and Bids D and E. In this example, order log 88 indicatesthat Offer B was canceled at 15:48:10 and that Offer C and Bid D wereexecuted at 15:48:30 and 15:49:05, respectively. Bid E, which wasreceived at 15:48:06, is still pending.

In the present example, sensor 62 is configured to ping client 20 everytwo seconds with test signal 66. Accordingly, at 15:48:08—two secondsafter receiving Bid E from Workstation A associated with trader22—sensor 62 transmits test signal 66 to Workstation A. In the presentexample, however, Workstation A has experienced a failure that hascaused Workstation A to be disconnected from network 50. Accordingly,Workstation A fails to receive and respond to test signal 66 from sensor62. Upon detecting the failure of Workstation A to respond to testsignal 66, sensor 62 generates alert 64 and transmits alert 64 toprocessor 90. Upon receiving alert 64, processor 90 identifies in traderprofile 84 at least one trader preference 96 regarding the transmissionof status messages 14. In the present example, processor 90 identifies aparticular trader preference 96 to generate and transmit status message14 if client 20 is disconnected for more than five minutes. In thepresent example, trading platform 30 does not receive any responses fromWorkstation A during the five minutes following alert 94. Accordingly,based at least in part on the first trader preference 96 in traderprofile 84, Workstation A generates status message 14 at 15:53:08.

In the present example, processor 90 generates status message 14 for theparticular trading orders 12 that were pending at the time of thenetwork disconnection. In particular, processor 90 determines thatOffers B and C and Bids D and E were pending at the time of the networkdisconnection. Accordingly, processor 90 configures status message 14 toinclude information regarding Offers B and C and Bid D and E. In thisexample, because order log 88 indicates that Bid A was executed prior tothe network disconnection, trading platform 30 does not includeinformation regarding Bid A in status message 14.

After identifying in trader profile 84 the particular trading orders 12that were pending at the time of the network disconnection, processor 90determines the current status data 92 of the identified trading orders12 in trader profile 84. In this example, processor 90 determines thatOffer B was canceled at 15:48:10, that Offer C was executed at 15:48:30,that Bid D was executed at 15:49:05, and that Bid E is still pending.Processor 90 then generates status message 14 indicating the currentstatus data 92 associated with Offers B and C and Bids D and E.

In conjunction with generating status message 14, trading platform 30identifies in trader profile 84 contact data 86 for one or more clients20. In the present example, trading platform 30 is configured totransmit status message 14 to secondary clients 20 upon detecting anetwork disconnection of the primary client 20. Accordingly, tradingplatform 30 identifies in contact data 86 that Workstation B (IP address2.234.20.120) and E-mail Account A (john@trader.net) are secondaryclients. Accordingly, trading platform 30 addresses status message 14according to contact data 86 associated with Workstation B and E-mailAccount A. Trading platform 30 then transmits status message 14 toWorkstation Band E-mail Account A via network 50.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example status message 14, according to certainembodiments. In particular, status message 14 indicates that the time ofalert 64 is 15:48:08 and that the time of status message 14 is 15:53:08.Status message 14 further indicates the quantity, price, status data 92,and trading product associated with the particular trading orders 12that were pending when trading platform 30 detected the networkdisconnection. For example, status message 14 indicates that Offer B for5,000,000 units of trading product Y was received from Workstation A at20 15:47:14 and was executed at 15:48:10—two seconds after tradingplatform 30 detected the network disconnection. In a similar fashion,status message 14 indicates the characteristics and current status data92 of Offer C and Bids D and E.

In some embodiments, in conjunction with determining the current statusdata 92 of trading orders 12, trading platform 30 is operable tocalculate the net change in market position of trader 22. The marketposition of trader 22 may refer to the amount of a particular tradingproduct owned (long position) or owed (short position) by trader 22.Trading platform 30 may be configured to determine the net change inmarket position of trader 22 during the past hour, since the time ofalert 64, since the beginning of the trading day, or according to anysuitable time period. In the present example, trading platform 30 isconfigured to determine the net change in market position of trader 22since the time of alert 64. In this example, trading platform 30determines that market position of trader 22 with respect to tradingproduct Y is unchanged because Offer B for Trading Product Y wascanceled. Trading platform 30 further determines that, since the time ofalert 64, Offer C for 3,000,000 units of Trading Product Z and Bid D for10,000,000 units of Trading Product Z were executed. Accordingly,trading platform 30 indicates in status message 14 that, since the timeof alert 64, trader 22 is long by 7,000,000 units of Trading Product Z.Because Bid E for Trading Product X is still pending, trading platform30 determines that the market position of trader 22 with respect totrading product X is unchanged since the time of alert 64.

In the foregoing example, trading platform 30 is configured to calculatethe net change in market position of trader 22 since the time of alert64. It should be understood that trading platform 30 may be configuredto calculate the change in market position of trader 22 since thebeginning of the week, since the beginning of the trading day, oraccording to any suitable time period. It should be further understoodthat trading platform 30 may be configured to calculate and indicate instatus message 14 any suitable metric such as, for example, changes inmarket prices since the time of alert 64, trading volumes since the timeof alert 64, or any number and combination of suitable metrics.

In the foregoing example, a particular trader preference 96 directstrading platform 30 to generate and transmit status message 14 if client20 is disconnected from trading platform 30 for more than five minutes.It should be understood that trader preference 96 may direct tradingplatform 30 to generate and transmit status message 14 if client 20 isdisconnected from trading platform 30 for more than ten seconds, formore than one minute, or for more than any suitable period of time. Itshould be further understood that trader preference 96 may directtrading platform 30 to generate and transmit status message 14immediately upon detecting that client 20 is disconnected from tradingplatform 30.

Although the foregoing example illustrates trader preference 96 fortransmitting status message 14 based on time of network disconnection,it should be understood that trader preference 96 may be based on anynumber and combination of suitable criteria.

In the foregoing examples, sensor 62 generated alert 64 upon determiningthat client 20 had experienced a failure such as a networkdisconnection. It should be understood, however, that sensor 62 may beconfigured to generate alert 64 upon detecting any type and/orcombination of events. In particular, sensor 62 may be configured togenerate alert 64 upon detecting a data packet, sent from client 20,that represents a network intrusion attempt or comprises potentiallyharmful code such as, for example, a virus, spyware, a trojan horse, aworm, or any other harmful communication. In response to receiving suchalert 64 associated with a particular client 20, client interface 60 maybe configured to terminate the network connection between tradingplatform 30 and the particular client 20. In conjunction with thenetwork disconnection of the particular client 20, processor 90 maydetermine current status data 92 for trading orders 12 from trader 22associated with the particular client 20. Processor 90 may then generatestatus message 14 comprising the determined status data 92. Processor 90may identify in trader profile 84 contact data 86 for another client 20of trader 22. Processor 90 may then transmit status message 14 to theother client 20 of trader 22.

It should be understood that trading system 10 provides varioustechnical advantages, according to certain embodiments. In someembodiments, trading system 10 is operable to detect when a first client20 associated with trader 22 experiences a failure or networkdisconnection. In conjunction with detecting a failure or networkdisconnection, trading system 10 may determine the status of tradingorders 12 associated with trader 22. In some embodiments, trading system10 is further operable to calculate metrics such as, for example, thenet change in market position of trader 22 since the time of alert 64.Trading system 10 may then generate and transmit status message 14 to asecond client 20 associated with trader 22. Thus, trading system 10 maymaintain real-time flow of status information to trader 22 even when aparticular client 20 associated with trader 22 experiences a failure ornetwork disconnection. By maintaining real-time flow of statusinformation to trader 22, trading system 10 may promote confidence oftrader 22 in the reliability of trading system 10. Because traders 22with confidence in trading system 10 are more likely to submit moreand/or larger trading orders 12, trading system 10 may increaseliquidity in the market.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart for generating status message 14,according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 402 bystoring in memory 80 a plurality of trader profiles 84. A particulartrader profile 84 may be associated with a particular trader 22 and maycomprise first contact data 86 associated with a first client 20 andsecond contact data 86 associated with a second client 20. The methodcontinues at step 404 by storing in memory 80 at least one trading order12 that is pending execution and that was received from the first client20 associated with the particular trader 22. In some embodiments, inconjunction with storing the at least one trading order 12, tradingplatform 30 may store in memory 80 current status data 92 of the atleast one trading order 12. According to certain embodiments, statusdata 92 of trading order 12 may be expressed as pending, executed, orcancelled. In other embodiments, status data 92 of trading order 12 maybe expressed as a position in order stack 94. In some embodiments,trading platform 30 may process the at least one trading order 12 bymatching the at least one trading order 12 with at least a portion of acounterorder. In other embodiments, trading platform 30 may process theat least one trading order 12 by routing the at least one trading order12 to one or more market centers 40 for execution. Upon detectingexecution, cancellation, or other modification of the at least onetrading order 12, trading platform 30 may update status data 92 oftrading order 12 in memory 80.

At step 406, sensor 62 monitors a network connection between the firstclient 20 and trading platform 30. According to certain embodiments,sensor 62 is operable to monitor the network connection by periodicallytransmitting test signals 66 to the first client 20. Test signal 66 maybe a “status” function, a “get variable value” command, or any numberand combination of suitable messages, commands, requests, signals, ordata packets configured to invoke a response from the first client 20.At step 408, sensor 62 detects an alert 64 associated with the firstclient 20. In some embodiments, detecting an alert 64 associated withthe first client 20 comprises determining that a network connectionbetween the first client 20 and trading platform has be terminated. Thedetermination that the network connection has been terminated may bebased at least in part on a failure of the first client 20 to respond toone or more test signals 66.

In conjunction with detecting the alert 64, trading platform 30determines, at step 410, current status data 92 associated with the atleast one trading order 12 in memory 80. In some embodiments,determining the current status data 92 of the at least one trading order12 comprises determining a position of the at least one trading order 12in the market. At step 412, trading platform 30 determines a net changein market position of the particular trader 22 during a configurableperiod of time. Trading platform 30 generates, at step 414, statusmessage 14 indicating the determined current status of the at least onetrading order 12 and the determined change in market position of trader22. At step 416, trading platform 30 identifies in trader profile 84contact data 86 associated with a second client 20 associated withtrader 22. At step 418, trading platform 30 transmits status message 14to the second client 20 based at least in part on the identified contactdata 86. The method then 10 ends.

Although the present invention has been described in severalembodiments, a myriad of changes and modifications may be suggested toone skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present inventionencompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of thepresent appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising a memory; at least oneprocessor to: store in the memory a plurality of profile informationdescribing trader users and devices used by the traders, the profileinformation for a trader designating two device addresses forcommunicating with the trader, a first address being utilized forcommunication of trading commands and a second address being utilizedfor communication of alerts relating to communications failures to thetrading command address; maintain in the memory an order log thatrecords a trading status of orders of respective traders received fromthe traders at their respective trading command addresses, and tomonitor at a network sensor for network communication between networkinterfaces of the network sensor and network interfaces of the devicesused by the traders at respective trading command addresses forcommunication failures; in response to a network sensor detection of acommunication failure at a trading command address, maintaincommunication with a failed trader device, after the communicationfailure over the trading command address; and transmit an alert messageto the second address of the failed trader device, the alert messagecomprising a trading status of orders of the failed trader device at atime when the communication failure occurred and/or reflecting tradingof orders of the failed trader device after the communication failure.2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to: periodically transmit one or more test signals toa given trader device; and detect a speed of transmission of at leastone of the one or more test signals between the processor and the giventrader device.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to detect that a network connectionbetween at least one trader device and the processor has beenterminated.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory is furtheroperable to store plurality of profiles, each of the plurality ofprofiles comprising at least one market data metric, the at least onemarket data metric comprising information about at least one marketcondition in a trading platform.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, furthercomprising: determine the at least one market condition in the tradingplatform; generate at least one alert message defined within the atleast one of the plurality of profiles if a determined market conditiondeviates from the at least one metric defined within the at least one ofprofiles; and transmit the at least one generated alert message to atleast trader device indicated within the at least one of the pluralityof profiles.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the market conditionat least in part comprises: trading volumes, bid and offer prices,trends in prices, trends in trading volumes, time of entry of tradingorders, a change in market position, number of outstanding tradingorders, and number of active traders.
 7. A method for an electronictrading system for communicating with interfaces of workstations over acommunication network, the method comprising: receiving, by at least oneprocessor, profile information describing trader users of the system anddevices used by the traders, the profile information for a traderdesignating two device addresses for communicating with the trader, afirst address being used by the trading system as an address forcommunication of trading commands and a second address being used by thetrading system as an address for communication of alerts relating tocommunications failures to the trading command address; maintaining, bythe at least one processor, an order log in a memory that records atrading status of orders of respective traders received from the tradersat their respective trading command address; monitoring, by the at leastone processor, at a network sensor of the trading system for networkcommunication between network interfaces of the network sensor andnetwork interfaces of the workstations of the traders at the tradingcommand addresses of the trader for communication failures; detecting,by the at least one processor, a communication failure at a tradingcommand address; maintaining, by the at least one processor,communication with a failed trader device, after the communicationfailure over the trading command address; and transmitting, by the atleast one processor, an alert message to the alert address for thefailed trader device, the alert message reporting trading status oforders of the failed trader device at a time when the communicationfailure occurred and/or reflecting trading of orders of the failedtrader device after the communication failure.
 8. The method of claim 7further comprising: periodically transmitting, by a processor of theelectronic trading system, one or more test signals to a given traderdevice; and detecting a below-threshold speed of transmission of atleast one of the one or more test signals between the processor and thegiven trader device as a communication failure.
 9. The method of claim 7wherein detecting a communication failure further comprises detectingthat a network connection between a trading command address of a giventrading device and a trading platform has been terminated.
 10. Themethod of claim 7, wherein criteria for determining a communicationsfailure are user-configurable as part of a profile information.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising monitoring for a communicationsfailure further comprises monitoring for a market condition amongmarket.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the market condition atleast in part comprises: trading volumes, bid and offer prices, trendsin prices, trends in trading volumes, time of entry of trading orders, achange in market position, number of outstanding trading orders, andnumber of active traders.
 13. The method of claim 7, wherein the profileinformation further comprises an instruction directing the at least oneprocessor to generate at least one alert message to be sent to at leastone trader device when a virus infection is detected.
 14. The method ofclaim 7, wherein: the alert reports a change in market position since acommunications failure occurred.
 15. A method for an electronic tradingsystem for communicating with interfaces of devices over a communicationnetwork, the method comprising: storing in a memory profile informationdescribing trader users and devices used by the traders, the profileinformation for a trader designating two device addresses forcommunicating with the trader, a first address being used by the tradingsystem as an address for communication of trading commands and a secondaddress being used by the trading system as an address for communicationof alerts relating to communications failures to the trading commandaddress, the profile information including trader-specified criteria fordetecting an alert condition of respective devices, at least some of thetrader-specified criteria specifying a threshold for network speed suchthat, if network speed falls below the threshold, devices communicatingbelow the threshold are specified to be in an alert condition;maintaining in the memory of the trading system an order log thatrecords a trading status of orders of respective traders received fromthe traders at their respective trading command addresses, andmonitoring at a network sensor of the trading system for networkcommunication between network interfaces of the network sensor andnetwork interfaces of workstations of the traders at respective tradingcommand addresses for communication failures and for traders' specifiedalert conditions; and on the network sensor detecting an alert conditionor communication failure at a trading command address as specified inthe profile information, to maintain communication with a failed traderdevice, after the communication failure from the trading commandaddress, initiating communication between the failed trader device andthe electronic trading system via the alert address that includestransmitting an alert message to the alert address for the failed traderdevice, the alert message reporting trading status of orders of thefailed trader device at a time when the communication failure occurredand/or reflecting trading of orders of the failed trader device afterthe communication failure.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: the trader profile information further includingtrader-specified criteria for detecting an alert condition of respectivedevices; while processing orders in the electronic trading system,monitoring workstations of the traders at the respective trading commandaddresses that are specified in the alert conditions; and on detectingan alert condition at a trading command address as specified in theprofile information, transmitting an alert message to the alert addressfor the failed trader device, the alert reporting trading status oforders of the failed trader device at a time when the communicationfailure occurred and/or reflecting trading of orders of the failedtrader device after the communication failure.
 17. The method of claim15, further comprising: the trader profile information further includingtrader-specified criteria specifying a threshold for network speed suchthat if network speed falls below the threshold, devices communicatingat below the threshold are specified to be in an alert condition; whileprocessing orders in the electronic trading system, monitoring networkspeeds against traders' specified thresholds; and on detecting networkspeeds below the threshold specified for a trading command address asspecified in the profile information, transmitting an alert message tothe alert address for the trader, the alert reporting trading status oforders of the failed trader device at a time when then network speed wasbelow the threshold and/or reports trading of orders of the failedtrader device after the failed trader device fell below the thresholdnetwork speed.